Merrill Lynch adviser who filed bias suit fought for more diversity

Nashville man tells his story

Aug. 30, 2013

George McReynolds, lead plaintiff in a racial bias lawsuit against Merrill Lynch, 'wanted to make things better for African-Americans within the industry,' he said. 'And I felt like if we could do it at Merrill, other companies will start to pick it up. / Christopher Berkey / Associated Press

Written by

Shelley DuBois

The Tennessean

Changes coming

In its $160 million proposed discrimination settlement with black financial advisers, Merrill Lynch has agreed to make sweeping changes that “may well change the landscape of Wall Street,” attorneys said Thursday in court filings. The documents filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago come days after attorneys for about 1,200 plaintiffs alleging racial bias announced a deal that, if approved by a judge, would be one of the largest ever in a discrimination suit. Among the measures, Merrill Lynch will create a “leadership council” to recommend ways to improve opportunities for African-Americans, commits to interviewing at least one minority candidate when selecting new executives and agrees to consider diversity issues when assessing directors’ job performances. — Associated Press

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George McReynolds came to Nashville in 1964 when the city was in the throes of the civil rights movement. McReynolds stayed and studied and launched his career as a financial adviser in the 1970s, then joined the local branch of Merrill Lynch in 1983. At the time, he was the only African-American broker in the office.

In the 1990s, McReynolds began to feel that the company was discriminating against its African-American employees. As the years passed, he decided to do something about it. After nearly two decades at the company, McReynolds filed a class-action discrimination suit against his employer in 2005. Eight years later, Merrill Lynch has settled the suit, and will probably pay $160 million to about 1,200 plaintiffs companywide. The settlement is expected to go before a judge on Tuesday.

McReynolds sat down with The Tennessean this week for a wide-ranging discussion on several topics, including when he first became interested in finance, why he settled down with a University of Tennessee girl and how a 50-person meeting in Chicago changed everything.

When did you know you wanted to get into finance?

It sounds crazy, but when I was in junior high and grade school, I dreamed about doing this job. But growing up, we’re talking about late ’50s and early ’60s, I couldn’t find anybody in my hometown (Louisville, Ky.) that was doing this type of work. I slowly put it out of my mind and ended up at Tennessee State (University) in electrical engineering.

But finance was something I never gave up, and I did some minor trading at home. I decided I really liked this, so I ended up pursuing a career in financial management. This was in the late ’70s. In 1983, I ended up joining Merrill.

You went to Tennessee State University, and I understand that your wife, Elaine, went to the University of Tennessee. How did you two meet?

This goes back a lot of years into the early ’60s. We always believed in helping people get into better situations. There was a group that helped young children who wanted tutors, and we met doing that.

But the crazy part was that I was working with another guy who had hurt himself on the job and didn’t have a way of connecting with a young boy that needed some tutoring in math. He asked me to go and take his place. And it just so happened that while I was working with this boy, I got a chance to meet Elaine, so it worked out great for me.

OK, so you started work as a financial adviser with Merrill Lynch in 1983. Did you know immediately that it was a difficult work environment?

You’ve got to go back to what it was like when I was growing up. Yes, things were toxic, but that was kind of the norm. And just like any starting broker, it’s a lot of work, a lot of cold calls. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. But it’s a job that I wanted to do, and the longer I’ve done it, the more I’ve enjoyed it.

When did you realize that there was a companywide problem at Merrill Lynch?

This goes back to in the mid-’90s. There was a group of African-American brokers who had each been in the business for at least 10 years at that time. We were trying to figure out why our numbers were so small as compared to the rest of the brokers in the firm. There were 50 of us, and we met in Chicago. At that time, I think there were 25 states that didn’t have any African-American brokers at all.

One of the things we were trying to figure out is the distribution of assets when people leave, how African-American brokers were usually not included, or if we were included, we got accounts that people didn’t want because they were considered too small. That’s the way a lot of the system was working at that time.

You still work at Merrill Lynch in Nashville. How are things now?

The office support is better than what it has been. It’s nice being in a town right now where there’s three of us and we can talk.

Three African-Americans in the whole Nashville branch? That does not seem reflective of the city’s population.

No, no.

Do you think racial bias is a problem in the finance industry overall?

Yes. And I don’t have any exact numbers, but when you look at the financial advisers across the country, our numbers are very small. At Merrill Lynch, it is very small.

But beyond being underrepresented, the instances of targeted unkindness in some of the lawsuits are pretty shocking.

Merrill wasn’t the only place where that happened.

Over the past eight years, did you ever think, “Forget this. I will go start my own company”?

No, because I wanted to make things better for African-Americans within the industry. And I felt like if we could do it at Merrill, other companies will start to pick it up.

You sound hopeful after all this; you don’t sound jaded.

I always feel that the future is worth a lot more. And it’s something that I think my kids will be able to tell you: I’m stubborn. Oh, am I stubborn.